Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) pacer Naveen-ul-Haq and Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) batter Virat Kohli’s heated altercation was one of the highlights of the recently held IPL season.
The duo engaged in a war of words during the LSG-RCB clash at the Ekana Cricket Stadium in Lucknow on May 1. The on-field aggression spilled over to the post-match handshakes as they had another verbal spat.
Weeks after the culmination of IPL 2023, Naveen opened up about the incident that turned ugly, involving him and Kohli.
In an interview with BBC Pashto, Naveen blamed Kohli for triggering the fight and alleged that the RCB star caught his hands “forcefully” after the match.
“He shouldn’t have said all those things during the match and after it. I didn’t started the fight. After the match, when we were shaking hands, Virat Kohli started the fight,” Naveen said.
After the game, Kohli also had a heated exchange with LSG mentor Gautam Gambhir. Things did look ugly in the middle and all three were fined for breaching the IPL’s code of conduct. While Kohli and Gambhir were fined 100% of their match fees, Naveen lost half of it.
“When you will look at the fines, you will understand, who started the fight,” the Afghanistan cricketer added.
Naveen-ul-Haq then narrated what happened at the post-match handshakes.
“I just want to say one thing I generally don’t sledge anyone, and even if I do it I would say it to the batters only when I am bowling because I am a bowler. In that match, I didn’t utter a single word. I didn’t sledged anyone.
“Players, who were there they know how I dealt with the situation. I never lost my temper, when I was batting or after the match. What I did after the match is can be seen by everyone. I was just shaking hands and then he (Kohli) caught my hand forcefully and I am also human being and I reacted,” he said.
In the past, Naveen had ugly spats with former Pakistan cricketers Shahid Afridi and Mohammad Amir on the field.
“If someone is saying something to me I won’t back off. I have had it since I started playing the U-16 for Afghanistan in 2010. I never badmouth anyone but if anyone does that to me I don’t stay silent. I give it back. You can call it wrong but that’s how it is. Be it a young player from the opposition or a senior team member, be it in a club match, playing for Afghanistan, or in the IPL, I play the cricket match with same intensity and I would back off when someone says something to me,” Naveen said.
“Honesty speaking, if I would be in such situations again, I would not back off. My reaction would be the same,” he further remarked.
After his spat with Kohli, Naveen faced the wrath of Indian fans on social media and in the stadiums as well. Irrespective of the venue, the crowd broke into "Kohli, Kohli" chants whenever the Afghanistan pacer came into the attack bowling attack. He was also heckled by the fans while fielding near the boundary ropes on numerous occasions.
“It didn’t affected me at all. I know how to shut crtics mouth. I don’t have to gave it back to the 80,000 people, I was just focusing on my cricket, I had trust in my abilities and wanted my performance to do the talking,” he said.
“Social media was on fire but I told myself that if I have reached at this level with my cricket than I can continue playing the game after the incident as well,” he further stated.
